Case Study - 1800% Increase in Email Signups: Streamlining Code Distribution and Data Collection Processes

Overview

We created a complex software and marketing solution to a problem that PizzaForno had faced for years. Through a multi-step email funnel that begins on our website and extends to the local machine level, we can now effectively drive customer engagement and facilitate data collection for PizzaForno. With this system in place, we consistently collect 20 to 30 new customer emails daily.

Understanding the Problem

In today’s world, people are less inclined to share their email address than they used to be. Every successful email campaign begins with a compelling incentive. To get people to willingly give you their email address, there needs to be something in it for them. For PizzaForno specifically, they have the ability to create coupon codes, which can be entered on the vending machines to get a discounted rate on a Pizza. The problem is that machines only accept coupon codes created specifically for their respective locations, which complicates the execution of system-wide promotions, as any generated code would only function at specific machines.

We encountered significant challenges in collecting customer data due to the fully automated nature of their pizza vending machines, which operate without on-site staff. Previously, the PizzaForno email list contained only customer names and email addresses, lacking detailed tags for effective segmentation. To efficiently distribute targeted coupon codes through our email campaigns, we needed to identify the specific machine each customer had used or was planning on using.

This left us with two main issues:

1. No data to distinguish between customers

   • No existing customer have any relevant location data. What good are email addresses when you can't track or segment campaigns? Having no data means having no ability to test the marketing strategies your employing. Without the ability to measure campaign effectiveness with real data, you're essentially marketing blindfolded.

   • It's very difficult to collect information on future email signups when there's no one physically at these locations.

2. Difficult to offer incentives

   • Since the best way to grow a mailing list is with an incentive, and PizzaForno's codes only work on a per-location basis, We can't send these code's unless we know which location the customer is from.

   • Codes can be one-time use, or unlimited use. We wanted to offer people an incentive of $5 off, which must be set to single use as this isn't a profitable offer to run 24/7. So we need to send a unique code to every customer.

   • We need to make sure that a code being sent to a customer, has not already been sent to a different customer. Through PizzaForno's software we can see when coupon code's have been used. However, this doesn't help us know which coupon codes have been sent out already.

The Solution: Custom Data Integration & Incentive Based System for Targeted Marketing

Our solution was to bypass the coupon code limitations with custom software and to collect relevant location information on customers moving forward.

Step 1: Building a System to Store and Send Coupon Codes

To bypass the first limitation of PizzaForno's coupon codes, we needed to store these codes in our own database. This secure storage allowed us to add extra fields for each code, which could be toggled to indicate whether the code had been sent to a customer, and more importantly the location that code is for.

To generate these codes, we opted for an automated approach. With nearly 100 PizzaForno locations, each requiring its own set of codes, automation was essential for adding codes to our database. Without this, the process would have created a significant burden for the PizzaForno staff. A staff member must log into the portals specific to each location, generate the coupon codes, and continuously ensure that existing locations are replenished with new codes as needed, in addition to generating codes for any new locations.

To go about automating this process, we setup a cron job to automatically:

1. Check if (un-used) codes are getting low for each location.

2. If yes, sign into the specific locations portal.

3. Generate codes for that location.

4. Store these codes in our database with relevant details.

Here’s a summary of what our tables looked like, omitting irrelevant details:

Now that we had a system to store the coupon codes, we needed to build an API that can be accessed securely to request codes on a per-location basis. We also needed to make sure that as these requests came in, we ensured that if the codes were sent out, the code's were marked accordingly. This prevented customers from getting codes that had been used by someone else already.

This setup was a significant amount of work but it gives us the ability to automatically send out coupon codes, collect information on which codes have been sent, and most importantly get codes on a per-location basis.

By building this infrastructure we've created a system that can easily be utilized and expanded on in the future.

Step 2: Collecting Relevant Location Data on Past Customers

PizzaForno uses Mailchimp for their email marketing campaigns. First things first, we needed to add merge tags on Mailchimp. These are basically variables that store additional information that can be linked to a customers email. Think of merge tags like adding a couple extra table headings on an excel spreadsheet. We added a location identifier tag, a coupon code tag, and a few other tags that we used for campaigns like the PizzaForno google review campaign.

Addressing the challenge of finding out which locations existing customers frequented required custom software and an incentive. What made this tricky is that people aren't particularly willing to answer email surveys for nothing. Now that we had the code infrastructure setup, we could facilitate using codes as our incentive.

We emailed all existing PizzaForno mailing list subscribers, offering them a $5 discount coupon. Customers could claim this coupon by clicking a link in the email, which took them to a specially designed landing page. There, they were able to select their location, enter their email address, and retrieve their coupon code.

Seems simple enough, but there's a lot that needs to happen here.

We needed to utilize the coupon code API we built in a secure manner. To do this, we used token based authentication and proxied requests through our server. These security features added a layer of protection to the discount code infrastructure we built.

We needed to check if the user already existed in the mailing list. Although it was unlikely that people outside of this email campaign would stumble upon this page, we wanted to make it not matter if they did. So we adding some logic via the Mailchimp API to check if an email address already exists. If it does, update this customers Mailchimp profile by utilizing the newly created merge tags. If it does not, create a new customer with the new marge tags. This connected with a Mailchimp campaign that would automatically send customers an email that would display the contents of the newly created coupon code merge tag.

Now that we had somewhere that users can enter their email, select their location, and be able to receive an email containing a coupon code, we've solved 90% of the problem. At this point we've also created a scalable system for PizzaForno to create location specific email campaigns and measure effectiveness with real data. This system has proven to be highly beneficial, as we've successfully implemented it in numerous campaigns since then, including our Google Review Campaign.

Step 3: Utilizing Incentive Based Email Campaigns to Increase Email Signups

A different part of our marketing strategy for PizzaForno was to create local landing pages for each location. These landing pages were optimized for search engines and would display to relevant users when they would search google for terms like "Pizza near me", or "Pizza in Toronto".

When users are on these pages, it's pretty easy to tell which physical location they're from. This comes in handy for our coupon code campaign because it allows us to skip the step where users need to select a location from a form on these pages. This creates a better user experience and since there's less steps to submit the signup form, this should lead to a higher conversion rate.

To try and increase signups, we wanted to create exit intent email popups on these pages, in addition to the embedded versions. While some may consider email popups intrusive, we believe their effectiveness justifies the minor inconvenience of dismissing a popup.

We thought this would do good, but even we were surprised by how well this performed. We'll get into specifics later on in this case study.

Step 4: Infrastructure for Collecting Emails from Customers at Physical PizzaForno Locations

To collect emails from customers that visit the PizzaForno locations, we can expand the system we built in step 2. Since we already have a form that lets users select their location, we can skip the selection part of the form by utilizing query params. The way this works is that when a user visits the email signup landing page, we read the variables stored in the URL they're visiting from, and basically autofill the form of all the details aside from their name and email. Here's an example of how this works:

If a user visits this link:

https://pizzaforno.com/sign-up

They'll see the form where they have to select the location they're visiting. However, if they visit a URL that looks like this:

https://pizzaforno.com/sign-up?id=55

By reading the "id=55" part of the URL, we can tell that they're from location 55 and bypass the location selection form. The user will only need to fill out their email and name to get a code. Although this may seem like a lot of work for simply skipping a step on a signup form, we figured it was worth it. Our goal was to maximize email signups and this was a step in the direction of doing so.

Step 5: Using QR Codes to Direct Customers to Signup Forms

You might be thinking, how would customers ever get to this "https://...?id=55" page? The answer is QR codes. By utilizing QR codes, we can create scannable links that direct customers directly to their location specific email signup landing page. We now have QR code's that our team, the PizzaForno team, and licensees can share & use in marketing efforts.

One of the ways we used these QR codes was by creating a custom video that is currently featured on the 32" digital screens across the entire fleet of PizzaForno machines.

This video strategically incorporates a call-to-action (CTA) that allows customers to scan a QR code, and enter their email to receive a $5 discount code.

The machine video worked very well because it was able to get in front of a captive audience, namely customers who had already purchased a pizza and were waiting for it to be cooked. This then provided them with an incentive of up to 50% off their next order.

We've utilized the QR code system countless times in various campaigns since, including one that featured stickers designed for placement on the machines and other strategic locations.

Step 6: Creating Automated Email Journeys to Distribute Coupon Codes

The last step before launching this project involved setting up an automated email journey to distribute $5 off codes to customers who signed up. Our goal was to make it easy for customers to receive and clearly understand how to use the discount code.

Using merge tags, we inserted both the $5 off code and the details about the location where the code could be used into the email content. When a customer signs up, they are automatically added to the journey we built and sent their one-time-use code.

We then tailored the remainder of the email journey based on how customers joined, whether through our location pages or by scanning a QR code on our machines. Additionally, we adjusted it based on their open and click rates.

By segmenting customers based on their activity and how they entered the funnel, we were able to send personalized follow-up emails. This customization was particularly effective for our Google review campaign. As a result, these extra touchpoints helped us increase engagement and encourage more actions.

Client Testimonial

Campaign Results: A Surge in Email Signups and Engagement

Once set up, this system autonomously engages customers across the network of nearly 100 locations through a single streamlined funnel. It effectively collects emails and gathers data while boosting foot traffic, sales, and reviews. Thanks to this campaign we now

Daily email signups increased from just a few to consistently achieving 20-30 signups per day, resulting in a 1887% growth (not bad). Since the campaign began, we have collected over 4400 new emails.

This success can be attributed to various factors, but one of the most important was the SEO strategies we implemented on the location pages. The distribution of sign-ups was approximately 30.50% from QR codes and 69.50% from the location landing pages. We originally anticipated more sign-ups from the QR codes at the machines, but were pleasantly surprised to find the opposite occurred.